"Free speech and freedom of the media are essential to the functioning of democratic systems. However, recent decades have brought phenomena that pose a threat to media freedom. The author analyzed threats to media freedom and journalist’s security regarding resolution 2317 (2020) of the Parliamen
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tary Assembly of the Council of Europe. All Council of Europe Member States must effectively guarantee the safety of journalists, create an environment conducive to freedom of the media and prevent the misuse of laws or normative provisions that may affect this freedom, without which there is no democracy. The right of journalists to protect their sources must be guaranteed; police violence against journalists must be condemned, and sanctions against any infringement of the freedom of the media must be dissuasive. Although it is only “softlaw”, the PACE resolution may inspire the Member States to take more effective measures in this regard." (Abstract)
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"The decrease in journalist safety and media freedom has a negative impact on the rule of law because journalists cannot act as public watchdogs. Its deterioration in Europe during the last decade is a worrying trend for society as a whole. The Council of Europe has tried to fight against it through
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the creation of a public Internet-based Platform for the protection of journalism and the safety of journalists. The Platform receives alerts from non-governmental organisations such as journalist associations and this serves as an early warning mechanism for the Council of Europe. Non-governmental organisations act as partners of this International Organisation and in that way they protect the rule of law from below. A simple search of the Platform permits to see the many threats journalists face in Europe every day. This paper assesses how the Platform works. It is a positive initiative to co-operate with civil society that still has to improve its results mainly through a more effective engagement of the Member States of the Council of Europe." (Abstract)
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"Is journalism under threat? The image of journalists, as helmeted war correspondents protected by bullet-proof vests and armed only with cameras and microphones, springs to mind. Physical threats are only the most visible dangers, however. Journalists and journalism itself are facing other threats
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such as censorship, political and economic pressure, intimidation, job insecurity and attacks on the protection of journalists’ sources. Social media and digital photography mean that anyone can now publish information, which is also upsetting the ethics of journalism. How can these threats be tackled? What is the role of the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and national governments in protecting journalists and freedom of expression? In this book, 10 experts from different backgrounds analyse the situation from various angles. At a time when high-quality, independent journalism is more necessary than ever – and yet when the profession is facing many different challenges – they explore the issues surrounding the role of journalism in democratic societies." (Publisher description)
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"Legal and political responses to the above issues will feature centrally in this paper. More specifically, the paper will consider the role of Council of Europe as a regional body in the concerted international efforts to enhance the protection of journalists and other media actors, in particular t
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he implementation of the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity (hereafter: UN Plan of Action). It will do so in the context of an examination of some of the broader challenges of (re-)definition and (re-)orientation faced by a journalistic/media sector that is increasingly dynamic, diversified and diffuse." (Abstract)
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"To summarize a very expansive set of standards and concomitant strategies, it can be said that the three main prongs to the Council of Europe's approach to countering "hate speech" are: (1) the prevention / prohibition / punishment of certain types of expression (e.g., incitement to hatred, racist
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expression); (2) the facilitation and creation of expressive and communicative opportunities for minorities; and relatedly, (3) the promotion of tolerance, understanding, and integroup / intercultural dialogue. By virtue of their agenda-setting and forum-providing capacities, the media are specifically implicated in many of the strategies employed, but in a way that is deferential to their operational autonomy." (Conclusion, page 497)
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"This collective report examines the principal dimensions of media policy in 14 European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and the UK), probing into the historical forces, national traditions and distinct politi
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cal and socio-economic contexts in which media policies have emerged and developed. The analysis explores the main instruments for media regulation in the countries under study, and assesses the implications of the established media policy strategies for democratic politics. The country chapters follow a similar structure. Following a brief introduction, the analysis focuses on the media landscape of the countries under review, offering an overview of the national media market (the press, broadcast media, online media and news agencies), as well as a discussion of the status of the journalistic profession and media literacy. The third section presents the major actors involved in media policymaking and proceeds with a succinct presentation and explanation of the national regulatory framework for the media, focusing mainly on structural and content regulation. The final section provides a critical assessment of the principal issues and trends that characterise the media policies of the countries under study, together with an assessment of the degree to which they enable the media to feed the democratic process. The report also contains a chapter discussing the media-related initiatives of the European Union and the Council of Europe, focusing on the interventions that are of relevance and importance to the protection and promotion of media freedom and independence." (Introductory note, page 10)
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